by Jon Saraceno, USA TODAY Sports

by Jon Saraceno, USA TODAY Sports

Pete Rose, acknowledging that, "I disgraced myself and disrespected the game,'' nonetheless Wednesday publicly pleaded with Major League Baseball and Topps to restore deleted references of his record achievements on baseball cards of today's players.

Rose, 71, said erasure of the indelible mark he left on the game is "neither fair nor honest.''

"I am not asking for anyone to feel sorry for me. I am asking only that Topps/MLB not compound my punishment by deleting the truth of what I achieved,'' Rose said in a statement released to USA TODAY Sports. "Please believe me, I have suffered very much for what I did, but I need to respond when what I did fair and square in baseball is taken away from me too. That is neither fair nor honest.''

Banned from baseball for 24 years for repeated lying about his compulsive gambling on the game, Rose remains on the permanently ineligible list and therefore cannot be included on any licensed MLB products.

Last week, Topps confirmed that Rose will not be acknowledged on the backs of cards of other players who might approach some of his standards of excellence. The "Hit King'' played in the Majors from 1963-86, amassing a record 4,256 hits with a career batting average of .303.

Rose said in his statement that he does not want "anyone to feel sorry for me'' but clearly is irked that Topps has "quietly deleted any reference on its cards to my accomplishments ....''

"I was banished from baseball 24 years ago and am now 71 years old. I have recently had two heart procedures,'' said the statement. "The punishment from the Commissioner's Office I have suffered as result of my actions is one I accept full responsibility for. For far too many years, I denied the truth of how I had acted and I recognize that I disgraced myself, and disrespected the game, players and fans that I loved every day I went out on the field.

"But I never gave less than 100% as a player, and I worked hard for every hit and every record I accomplished. I ask that Topps/MLB recognize that my records were honestly earned and that that my punishment not go beyond what Commissioner (Bart) Giamatti directed.

"I am proud of my records as a ballplayer and their place in the great history of the game. They should be restored immediately as they are part of my story too.''

Permanent condemnation of Rose's self-inflicted besmirched name should not be the goal, the statement said.

"My name and reputation will never be what they should have been had I not screwed up in the way I did,'' Rose said. "I have reconfigured my life as Commissioner Giamatti advised me to and I know I have come a long way. I understand that there will be some who believe that I should be condemned forever, and they are certainly entitled to their views.

"Former Commissioner Fay Vincent has gone so far to defend the punishment accorded me as deserved in the same way as where "the Saudis cut off an arm if you steal somebody's wallet. You see one guy walking around without a wrist, it stops you."

"I am grateful to my former teammates, fans and most importantly my family and friends who have forgiven me and respect me for whom I am today. I am grateful that I live in a nation where most believe that one's punishment should fit their wrongdoing and that ours is a nation that judges an individual by both what he has done and how he has changed.''